Thirteenth Chime
by Herald Aros
Summary: »after the first twelve, before the crying ∙∙∙ [namiku]


♪ _Thirteenth Chime _♪

♫ Namiku ♫

_Tick tock tick tock..._

The clock in the background was starting to grate on her nerves.

_Tick tock tick tock..._

Where was he? He was supposed to be here by now.

_Tick tock tick tock..._

It was almost midnight. She'd been waiting for five hours, listening to nothing but the ticking and the tocking and the hourly chiming, her own breathing drowned out so easily by those annoying sounds that grounded her, kept her from running and throwing herself out the window.

_Tick tock—riinnggg!_

Oh, look, there's the first chime. It wasn't really a chime, like bells, it was more of a loud ringing sound, like when a sword hits a brick wall.

_Riinnggg!_

She was waiting _waiting_** waiting** for him, she was _always_ waiting for **some**thing that seemed to never come. But he did come, before. He always showed up, always on time, just...not this time.

_Riinnggg!_

He was late. No, he was so far past late that "late" just couldn't convey how late he was. She'd be sure to draw it for him, after he arrived and told her why. He was sure to have a good reason, she knew.

_Riinnggg!_

Why wasn't he here? What could be keeping him away from her? Suddenly she was worried. Five hours late and still no sign. Was he in trouble? Most likely. She hoped he was okay, hoped he was taking care of himself.

_Riinnggg!_

She glared at the clock, glared a white glare at its golden-brown rings and turned that same glare on the shadows of the room, blaming them for him not being there. Blaming them for her worry and her fear and secretly glaring her white glare at herself for her weakness and her uselessness.

_Riinnggg!_

Halfway through. Six chimes and she was standing up and pacing, was wringing her hands and flipping her hair, was glancing around for some sort of solution.

_Riinnggg!_

She didn't want to leave, didn't want to go looking for him in case he came in behind her, in case she wasn't here when he arrived. This was their refuge, where they could be themselves and be in love and not have to worry about anyone else's opinions.

_Riinnggg!_

She nodded to herself; she would wait. She would always wait for him.

_Riinnggg!_

Nine nine nine nine **nine**...this _waiting_ took a long time. Funny, she'd done it all her life and hadn't noticed how long it took until she watched the hands on the clock tick-tock tick-tock so s l o w l y.

_Riinnggg!_

Who had put that clock there, anyway? It was taunting her, with its slloooww tick-tocks and its dull rings, telling her over and over _He's not here he's not here **he's not here!**_

_Riinnggg!_

How many was this? Was it twelve yet? It couldn't be twelve yet. If it was twelve, he really hadn't come. So it couldn't be the twelfth chime, not now, not just yet.

_Riinnggg!_

**That** was it. The twelfth — _the last_ — chime, the final dull ring. It echoed in her head, it and the steady tick-tocking. _He's not here he didn't come **he's not here he didn't come!**_

Then the door was opening and her breath was catching and then it was open but—

"Naminé, I..."

—it wasn't him. It couldn't be him...could it? It didn't look like him, so it couldn't be him. But her heart— _what heart? I don't have a heart—_ was telling her mind that it was, it was him, _it was it was **it was**_ and she didn't understand **at all**, what had he done— _why?—_ to get this way, because he wasn't her Riku anymore, he was someone else, some other Riku who looked like some other person that she'd seen in his nightmares.

"I...I had to do this. You understand, right? Naminé? ... Naminé, it's me. I'm sorry, Naminé, but I had to."

And there was the thirteenth chime, the loud, dull ringing sound of something that wasn't — _couldn't be _— her heart breaking. It was a nonexistent sound to end a day that had lasted far too long and—

"I know, Riku."

—the next day began with crying and running and shouting.

Or maybe it never began at all, because that thirteenth chime was still ringing in her ears when the sun came up and went down, again and again and again.

_Riinnggg!_

-Fin.-

Okay, so I'm still grounded and whatnot, but I'm dead bored and had this wonderful little oneshot sitting in my documents... X3 Anyway, Namiku isn't my OTP, but I was totally into it when CoM came out (because that was like, _sooooo_ long ago XD). There are too few girls! (It was either her or Yuffie, yanno? And it's not that I don't like Yuffie...just, er, I don't like her as much as Naminé.)

So tell me how I did, okay?

Edit: Okay, I added a bit to it, hopefully that clarifies what's happening (at least a bit...-insert gulping and collar-pulling here-). If not...er, hit me, then tell me. Or tell me, then hit me. Your choice. XD


End file.
